Klarna Inc.’s new boss has big ambitions. Jim Lofgren, vice president of global accounts and partnerships for the Swedish payments processor’s U.S. operation, tells Digital Transactions News there’s plenty of room for growth in what many might perceive as a saturated market for retail credit. “In the U.S., we see …
Read More »In-Car Payments Pioneer Honda Broadens Its Focus Beyond Autos With a New R&D Unit
In-car payments may be taking yet another step forward, along with related connected-car innovations. American Honda Motor Co. Inc. on Thursday said it is reorganizing its innovation arm, Honda Silicon Valley Lab, as a new company called Honda R&D Innovations Inc. The new entity has been created specifically to “expand …
Read More »Globally, the ‘Pays’ Ring up Eye-Popping Growth. But In the U.S., It’s a Different Story
Mobile-wallet enthusiasts may have to look overseas for encouragement. A report released Tuesday indicates sizzling growth worldwide for the three major mobile-payments services—Android Pay, Apple Pay, and Samsung Pay—but researchers who follow the U.S. market say the trio are making little if any headway with consumers. The report from Juniper …
Read More »Offering a Smorgasbord of Lenders, Vyze Looks to Push up Point-of-Sale Credit Approvals
Payments providers have long recognized how extending credit can create consumer transactions where none would otherwise have occurred, but lately the idea of instant credit is gaining momentum. Companies like Klarna and Affirm have made a splash with on-the-spot credit for online purchases. Now, Austin, Texas-based Vyze Inc. is out to …
Read More »Despite Gobs of Publicity, Faster Payments Don’t Register With a Lot of Banks
The subject of faster payments has been in the news almost continually for months now, but apparently awareness of the subject, and in some cases adoption, remains lower than expected among the financial institutions that will be depended on to implement speedier settlement. That’s if survey results released this week …
Read More »Not Quite 3 Years Old, Visa Checkout Reaches 20 Million Users, Adds Merchants
Visa Inc.’s Visa Checkout online payment service now claims more than 20 million enrolled accounts, the payments giant announced Thursday. The service, which launched in July 2014, also added new merchants, among them major retailers and service companies including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and its Sam’s Club unit, Avis Budget, and …
Read More »In a Business That ‘Requires Scale,’ Avangate Swallows 2Checkout And Eyes More Deals
For a company looking to grow via acquisitions, the increasing complexity of the payments business can be an advantage. That’s what Atlanta-based Avangate Inc. is banking on. On Friday, the online processor for digital goods clinched a deal to acquire 18-year-old e-commerce gateway 2Checkout.com Inc., and its appetite is hardly …
Read More »Investor Interest in Bitcoin And Blockchain Cools, Signaling Possible ‘Caution’
The price of Bitcoin may have gotten hot in recent months, but investor interest in Bitcoin and blockchain startups could be cooling off. The population of unique investors pouring money into companies dealing in the cryptocurrency and its underlying infrastructure fell 27% last year to 217, according to the latest …
Read More »A Supreme Court Decision Favors Merchants in Latest Round in Battle Over Surcharging
Merchants won a skirmish on Wednesday in their long-simmering battle with the card networks over acceptance costs with a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to void a lower-court ruling that upheld a state law banning credit card surcharging. The decision, in which all eight Justices concurred, sends the case …
Read More »A Supreme Court Rebuff Sends a Massive Credit Card Interchange Case Back to Brooklyn
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday heightened the uncertainty surrounding crucial payment card rules and practices by refusing to hear an appeal of a lower-court decision last summer that threw out a $5.7 billion antitrust settlement. The top court’s decision will likely lead to years of continuing litigation and negotiation, …
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